CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — Even with Vice President Sara Duterte endorsing Senator Imee Marcos’s Senate bid, there’s still no official word from the opposition party Partido ng Bayan (PDP) on filling the last slot in its senatorial lineup, a party insider told Daily Tribune on Saturday. “Senator Imee is not among those listed on the party’s sample ballots being circulated at rallies nationwide.” The insider said the PDP — which is distancing itself from its original Lakas ng Bayan name — hasn’t included Imee in any official campaign materials. A founding member of PDP Laban urged both factions of the party not to drag Vice President Sara Duterte into the ongoing internal conflict, emphasizing that she has never been a member of the party, despite her father’s strong ties to it. Tensions have been rising within PDP Laban after Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III — the late founder’s son and current party leader — pushed the Senate to fast-track the impeachment proceedings against VP Sara. In a formal letter to Senate President Chiz Escudero, Pimentel invoked the party’s name in calling for the start of the impeachment trial. PDP Laban, founded in 1981 by then opposition mayor Nene Pimentel of Cagayan de Oro, has played a key role in several major political shifts — from the rise of President Corazon Aquino in 1986 to Duterte’s ascent in 2016. Read Full Story
